The present invention relates to a method for displaying a window on a display device, and in particular to a method for displaying a window on a display device that is employed with a notebook-sized or smaller computer.
The following methods are well known for the display of all the objects (items, icons, etc.) that are included in a window. One method involves the arranging of objects in fixed fields or domains that are provided in advance and to which objects are assigned. With this display method, however, borderlines are required to delimit the fields or domains. And these borderlines tend to render a screen complicated. In addition, the arrangement of the fields must be optimized in consonance with the addition and the deletion of objects, or there will be unoccupied domains on a screen. Another method involves the entering of a plurality of objects that belong to a single group (category) into each window, or each folder, that is provided to represent a group. This conventional method also requires delimited areas, such as window fields. Since a display device, such as a palmtop computer, has too small a display area in which to represent a plurality of windows at the same time, the windows must be so displayed that they overlap each other, and thus it is difficult to display all the objects on a screen and to select a desired object.
FIGS. 3 and 4 are diagrams that show examples of conventional techniques. In the category display example that is shown in FIG. 3, an arrangement is depicted that is used for the display of a menu on a palmtop computer. With this method, while all the objects are displayed, borderlines must be displayed that designate the boundaries of fixed group domains. Even if an object is deleted, the boundary of the domain to which the object belonged is not altered, and within it there is an empty, unused area. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a window display example for which a common window is employed. This example also requires borderlines, such as those that are represented by window fields, title areas, and scroll bars. Since a display device, such as a palmtop computer, has a small display area, all of the contents of a plurality of group windows can not be displayed at the same time. The windows must overlap each other when they are displayed, and not all the objects in the second group window, which is partially hidden under the first group window, can be seen. In other words, since all the objects cannot be displayed on the screen simultaneously, an extra operation must be performed before a desired object can be selected.
It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a method, for the display of a window, by which it is possible for a user, even when a display area is small, to easily identify to which window an object that the user has selected from among a plurality objects belongs.
To achieve the above object, according to the present invention, first, a plurality of objects are displayed in a display area, and a first attribute (e.g., a display color or a luminance level) is employed for the display of the physically borderless window (category) fields (which constitute backgrounds for the objects) to which the objects belong. Then, when a user selects a specific object from among the objects in the display area, in response to the selection of the specific object, a second attribute is employed for the display of the object""s window field (the background for the object). As a result, the window to which the object belongs can be easily recognized.